At the end of one of my stories about Vieques, I mentioned that its “quirkiness is it’s magic”. This is so true! Vieques is a quirky little place, full of colour, vibrancy and life. There is color everywhere you look. The turquoise ocean the blue skies the white puffy clouds, even the iguana’s are bright green, and buildings of every color you can think of.
I am sure you have seen enough pictures of the amazing beaches, coconut palms and sunsets. There is a lot more to this place than that. Though that seems to feature highly in our priorities, and why not? we are, after all, on a Caribbean Island. So, I wont bore you with the same old, here is a slightly different look at Vieques.
Check out this rainbow of houses.
There it is – Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo and Violet – all present and accounted for.
As we walk around this quirky little place we are never short of amazement at the next colour combination we come across.
We have the Brights……
And the Pastels……..
And then all these awesome combinations…..
And this is just a small example of what is here.
How many different colours can you see in this scene? Love it!
Even the masks are all colours!
Our time here is almost up. We leave in 9 days! It is so hard to believe that it is over six months already, it has gone super fast! We have been really busy, it hasn’t all been hanging out at the beach! We have both put in many hours volunteering to various places. Chris has done many days with Kim, watering gardens when it was really dry and weed-wacking when the rain came and made it all grow again. I have helped at the kids art camp during the summer holidays and done some admin for Our Big Fat Caribbean Rescue, which is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of Vieques’ animals, during their free Neuter and Spay clinics.
Both Chris and I have been walking the dogs at the Humane Society most weeks – Friday, our favorite day of the week! We have been very creative in the kitchen, creating wonderful dishes with the, often, lack of available ingredients. We have immensely enjoyed our social gatherings, and sharing all these wonderful culinary creations with dear friends, whom we are going to sorely miss!
We have had our own property here to caretake for, there has been gardening, painting, building and maintenance to carry on with. I have been going to Zumba and Aqua Aerobics a couple of times a week. We did several trips to the big island for various supplies, and had our fabulous yet disastrous visa trip to the Dominican Republic AND had pretty bad storm (Fiona wasn’t quite a hurricane as she went past us) – No wonder the time has gone fast!
This says it all!!
So where to from here?
Boston (USA) – Jakarta (Indonesia) – Penang (Malaysia) – Hua Hin (Thailand) – Chennai (India) – NZ all by Febuary 2023!
What a cool holiday! 5 days of pure doing nothing but eat and drink and swim, read and sleep! If you have read our last story, you will know that we had a pretty tough time getting out of the DR, but that has not spoilt our memories of a wonderful holiday.
Boca Chica is a 10 minute ride from Santo Domingo Airport. Don’t get fooled by Booking.com telling you it is a 40 minute ride and charge you accordingly. We only paid $12USD on the way back with Uber, compared to the $40USD on the way in.
The Hotel Zapata was basic but totally adequate, and it had air conditioning! We had a restaurant and bar on site and breakfast was included, which we always love! It was a mere 30 meters from the water with nothing in between but sand and a security fence and gate. Our thatched roof bar was on the sand right beside the lounge chairs we occupied each and every day. What more could we want!
We had the best part of the beach as there were no restaurants out the front of the property. This was an area where locals would come in their family groups and set up camp for the day bringing home made food in huge pots, blankets, hammocks and music. The atmosphere was great, there was no hassles on this beach as we were expecting. There were street vendors all day every day but when you said “no thank you” they respected this and moved on.
There is an outer reef about 300 meters off shore, so the water inside was calm and shallow. Only about waist deep at the most almost right out to the reef. The water was crystal clear, Caribbean blue, and so warm. Beautiful white sand and so many coconut palms. This reminded me so much of out at One Foot Island in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. So beautiful. I really feel we found a absolute gem!
Many restaurants lined the beach and the shore to the east of us and to the west, a city of beach umbrellas over tables filled that part of this super wide beach. We walked up and down this many times, stopping at the little stores in the streets behind the beach, to get cold beers and sit on the sand.
There was a big police presence both in the streets behind and on the beach front. There were the normal police and the tourist police, who ever knew there was such a thing! It felt safe.
Dominican Republic is well known for its “All Inclusive” hotel deals where it is a one-stop-shop. Where there are restaurants, bars, beaches, pools, everything you could want, all very safe and included in the deal, they are very cost effective. We went to one for the day, just a walk away at the end of the village. It was great fun, I lost count of the cocktails we tried after I ran out of fingers! We ate plenty and wobbled our way back to the Hotel Zapata and crashed at 7:30pm. It was a good fun day but we were so happy with our little hotel and the location was just perfect! Even if you are travelling with children, I would recommend this part of the country.
The one thing we were not so impressed with was the food. If you read any of our other stories you will know that we love exploring food. I have said it before, the humble supermarket and even more so the local markets are our favorite tourist attraction in any country we visit. The food here was very average. Not horrible, but very definitely, not special. Not to worry, there was more than enough other beauty to make up for it – and the beer was Dam good!!
Thank you for reading our story, I hope you enjoyed the photos!
We can now see the lighthouse from our home in Bravos
Maria
Email written0930 19 September 2019. We have been told the power will go off at 6 tonight , but it just went off for 5 minutes. So I thought I better get this out before it goes again. We are picking 6pm optimistic!We are ready for this! but it will be different to the last one. We were so lucky with the change of course with Irma, I don’t think so this time. For one thing all the models are agreeing with her course, unlike Irma. The National guard have arrived on the island, so hopefully no trouble here. Huge trouble on Tortola following Irma. Tempers are flaring here, everyone is very stressed and angry.Just to remind you, our house is concrete and very solid, flat roof and louver windows. It is very strong. If we have to we will move downstairs to the BnB as it has less windows and exposure to the weather. OK the power has been off and on a couple of times so will send this now. I have my cell phone but keeping it charged is a problem. They are thinking of cutting the water off at some point today as well. We have enough drinking water for about 8 days!
This email never got sent
The most terrifying night of my life!
The power has been off since mid-morning ad Rhonda arrived about 12, it is starting to get quite windy. It increases all day and by about 1930 it feels about the same as Irma. It is dark now, and we all decide that we should go to bed – maybe we can sleep through the worst of it – they said pre-dawn will be the worst.
We all did sleep, but the noise of the wind woke me after a couple of hours and I couldn’t lie there anymore. It is pitch black, Rhonda is asleep and so is Chris. I can’t see anything out the windows it’s too dark. The noise is getting louder and the windows are getting silted up on the outside. Water is starting to come in under the door at the back and the front porch. I am checking the windows constantly trying to see what’s going on outside. I can see blue and red flashing glows out there, the National Guard are patrolling, this is quite comforting. Checking checking, round and round the house, what can I do?
It is quieter and safest in the bunk room, we have pushed the 2 bunks up against the inside wall, furthest away from the 1 window in that room. A light out the back keeps coming on – we have no power! There must be someone out there! It is so dark outside but then the light comes on I can see that it is like looking through mist, its like the light is shining from under a blanket. I dismiss this thought but it keeps happening so I wake Chris up, terrified that someone is out there and needs help. Turns out to be a battery powered security light I didn’t even know we had.
1am, 2am, 3am, still awake, I try to rest, must have fallen asleep for a few minutes, I woke to Rhonda screaming, I jumped off the bunk into ankle deep water, my heart is racing and I am shaking, I get to Rhonda and she is OK just got a fright wit all the water. its 3:30am, we try bailing the water into the shower, more coming in than we can keep up with, the water from the front is meeting the water from the back! The noise now is deafening, I want to look out the windows, but Rhonda yells, keep away from the windows! She is right, they are buckling under the pressure and look like they will blow in and any moment. Roaring bangs and crashes outside, sounds like cars colliding, if you were outside now you probably wouldn’t survive.
Chris is up now and we are all bailing – this is useless, but we have to do something! It is like it is raining inside the house, water is coming in horizontally through every louver window gap, everything is soaked. The mud is coming in with the water, this is so frightening!
5am we give up, Rhonda and I go to the bunk room and huddle up in the corner praying the windows stay intact and the roof stays on. If that happened, we would just have to stay covered as much as we can and ride it out, we realise now that there would be nowhere to go, and no safe way to get there, its all for one at this stage. Chris lies on the couch, safe from the front doors at least, I must have drifted off.
Before
6am its just getting light, the wind seems to be dying down a bit, it is still raining. I try to see out the window through the mud caked on the glass. It looks like a war zone, Pam and Kim’s roof terrace has gone, I can see our gate down the driveway, roofing iron everywhere. As it gets lighter and the wind gets less we can open the doors and start sweeping the water and mud out. Rhonda’s car is written off, looks like it has been in a high speed collision. The roof of the yellow house flew into the car and ended up in the orange houses yard. Trees, branches, fences, power poles, all down, we now have a full view of the Atlantic Ocean. Its hard to comprehend what I am seeing.
Iron gate, no windage, unbelievable
This branch fell away from the housePam and Kim’s roof deck – goneRhonda’s car saved the bottom level of the house from flying iron
It was terrifying during the hurricane and then the aftermath was as bad. So many people lost everything. We can’t believe no-one was killed (during the storm on Vieques anyway) People are amazingly though, and so resilient. The community really did come together and help each other. We would meet at the square everyday to talk with people. This was the only way we have communication. At this stage we had no idea about anywhere else, not even the other side of our little island. The roads were blocked, the power was off, no phone coverage.
2 minute phone call on Mayors Sat phone
Army ration packs
The municipality were great and did everything that they could given their limited resources. By day 7 they were giving out Military ration packs of food and bottled water to everyone and holding a meeting at 2pm everyday to advise of the situation. Day 8 they offered a 2 minute satellite call for everyone. I took that opportunity to call Mum to get the word out that we were ok. I lined up for 2 hours but it was worth it.
Unlike Irma, it continued to rain and was overcast for 3 days, everything was so wet and could not get dry. It was incredible to see the destruction nature can cause. The trees which were still standing had no foliage and even worse – no bark!
We
had decided by now that we should try to leave but we were hearing that San
Juan airport was still not functional except for the military. So there was no
point in us going to the main land to then camp out at the airport for days, we
were safer where we were.
Roofing iron everywhereTop story of La Lan Chita on the road
We were quite worried about the crime which was increasing every day. Chris rigged up some traps around our house with our neighbour and devised a signal system if people were on the property. Chris had a picaxe on his side of the bed. It was so dark! A few homes had generators so had power but they were running out of fuel and the lines for the gas stations (on the days that fuel did come across on the ferry) were 5 hours long! There was a curfew in place from 6pm to 5am, this was policed by the National Guard who had come across to the island the day before Maria. We heard that someone had stolen the generator from the morgue at the hospital! At the end of day 4 the water stopped and that was it for 3 days. They got it going again for 1 day but they tried to steel the diesel that was running the generator which was running the pump, couldn’t get it so sabotaged the water system! No water again for another 3 days. You know, we had no power for 10 days following Irma and we were getting really grumpy with it. BUT this time, with no water! no power was easy!! It is the water which is critical and communication, that is essential also, we can live without power. Funny how it is all relative. We were collecting water from the roof to use to flush the toilet and try to hand wash clothes, we were showering in the driveway with the hose from the roof water. We are using paper plates so don’t have to do dishes.
Again the garbage has not been collected, lots of rotten food and everything is so wet, perfect breeding ground for flies and mosquitos, they are rampant, it is hideous. A doctor has said that there will disease outbreaks soon. And again we are struggling with the heat, no power, no water, no ice! We heard that they used all the spare parts to fix the power after Irma, so no way to fix the power this time and Vieques is feeling like the “forgotten Island” sitting at the bottom of the “help” list.(Vieques was still running on generators 12 months later!)
Sound traps around the house
Trying to get coolSo many lost so much
We remained on Vieques for 16 days post-Maria. We were evacuated by the US State Department together with the NZ Embassy in Washington. Its a great story of relief and sadness, of nations pulling together and people helping people. To be published soon!
Chris and I spent 2017 house sitting, 5 months in Puerto Rico and
5 months in South East Asia. House sitting exposes you to many wonderful
experiences, the people, the food, cultures, language etc etc Weather is one we
don’t think of so much. We have never felt so hot in Puerto Rico for example
and later this year we will possibly have snow as we are currently in Europe.
It is all part of the experience of traveling around our amazing planet and you
have to embrace all of the above. But, we have experienced a severe weather
episode, not 1 but 2 hurricanes back to back – Irma and Maria, September 2017 –
Puerto Rico. So while we get ourselves settled into life in France, I would
like to share our Hurricane story. Pre Irma, Post Irma and Pre Maria, Post
Maria then Our Evacuation, I hope you enjoy our story.
Pre-Irma
La Chiva, Vieques
Vieques, beautiful Island to the East of Puerto Rico Main Island.
34km X 5km.
Written early September 2017. We are good, getting our heads around preparation for Hurricane Irma who is destined to cross our path in a couple of days. The Island is in preparation mode, the ferry service is being suspended on Tuesday and all the ferries will be taken around to San Juan for safe keeping, the airport will probably close as well. We don’t really know what we are in for. We are being advised by locals to be prepared, get food provisions in and collect/buy lots of water. The power will more than likely be turned off, before it gets cut off by the weather – this is less damaging to the system apparently. The supermarkets get stocked up on a Tuesday and often by Monday it is slim pickings in there anyway, so with this mass “buy lots of food” there will be nothing on the shelves. Also heard though, that they start giving frozen/refrigerated stuff away, like ice cream etc, if it looks like the power will go out. Happy days!!
We may get a bit of water in through our back door so we are going
to make some sand bags up and Chris is going to dig a trench in preparation.
At the moment they don’t know for sure if it will hit us directly.
Some of the predicted paths show her coming right at us, some have her
tracking North. Even if she tracks north, we will still get some impact being
on the fringes. We will be ok here. we are in a really solid house.
We know enough people here now too that if it is total devastation, we
have places to go and people to take us there. We are certainly not
alone.
We have a water collection drum from the roof for the garden, so
that will be great. We have stocked up the freezer. We have gas cooking
both upstairs and downstairs in the apartment. Our gas tanks are a bit
exposed, if they blow away we have the downstairs ones as back up, we have
loads of candles and vodka! We think we are ready. So funny though, we
are off to the beach today! hard to believe what is coming.
Facebook post:
So we are in the path of hurricane Irma. She will hit in about 18 hours. Cat 5, record wind speed recorded with Jose right up Irma’s bum. 185 mph winds gusting to 225. We are well prepared – as much as hurricane virgins can be! Got the food, water, candles, torches, grab bag for evacuation. Our house is very secure, the power will be turned off, maybe even as soon as tonight. I will try to keep updated here for as long as I can. Xxx
During. This Hurricane was predicted as cat5, and they said it is the biggest in the area ever. So we were very concerned, in fact we are really scared. We have done lot of prep, we had several days to get prepared, so we feel we were in a good place. The wind started at 4am and got stronger and stronger. At times the wind is gusting so strong it makes us hold our breath… stop…. And wait… BREATH!! but it really isn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We have no power, so no news on what is actually happening out there. We have lots of food, we even have a roast chicken cooking, bottle of wine, candle light – its only 3:30 pm!! Giving us something to do to keep our minds off the howling wind outside. We cooked the roast in the oven downstairs as it has a manual temp dial. The one upstairs is all electric controls. We can manually light the hob, but not the oven. So Chris is the brave one! Up and down, in the rain, trying to stay on his feet, carrying trays of roast dinner! Late afternoon, she was getting a bit less intensity, or maybe we were just getting used the sound of the wind. We have been watching the palm trees and they are now blowing in the opposite direction – she must be passing! Blowing East, then North then West. When she swung around to the north we got water in the front doors and were on mop up duty for about an hour then she swung to the west and hammered the other side. We knew then that she was on her way! It was really fascinating seeing the change of wind direction as she progressed.
The house across from us has lost their veranda roof, it is still just hanging there from one corner, very lucky it didn’t go flying. There is no one home which is just as well, one of the uprights went through a window and they will have a lot of weather in there being on the west side.
So that was a Cat 5 hurricane – or was it? We didn’t know it at the time but there was worse to come, and…… is it the hurricane or the aftermath that is more dangerous?
Kiwis Do Fly 